To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5G or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a ‘Post LTE System’.
The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G communication systems.
In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud Radio Access Networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, Coordinated Multi-Points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like.
In the 5G system, Hybrid FSK and QAM Modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed.
A Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) refers to a smart card which: is inserted in a mobile communication device; has personal information about a mobile communication subscriber, such as network access authentication information, a phonebook, Short Message Service (SMS), etc., stored therein; and performs subscriber authentication and traffic security key generation when the mobile communication device is connected to a mobile communication network such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc., thereby enabling it to perform safe mobile communication. UICC has communication applications mounted therein, e.g., Subscriber Identification Module (SIM), Universal SIM (USIM), or Internet Protocol (IP) multimedia SIM (ISIM), etc., depending on types of mobile communication network. UICC also provides an upper-level security function for mounting various applications such as an electronic wallet, ticketing, electronic passports, etc.
In the manufacturing process, conventional UICCs are manufactured as a dedicated card for a specific mobile communication operator according to their demand. That is, conventional UICCs have authentication information about connecting to a network of a corresponding communication operator (e.g., USIM applications and subscriber identifier such as International Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI)), an encryption key (e.g., K value or Ki value), installed therein, and are delivered to the communication operator. The communication operator provides manufactured UICCs to the subscribers, and performs management of applications in the UICC, such as installation, update, deletion, etc., via Over-The-Air (OTA), etc. Subscribers insert UICC into their mobile communication device and use applications via the network of the communication operation. When replacing a mobile communication device with a new device, the subscriber can move the UICC from the old device to the new one, so that he/she can use authentication information, mobile phone numbers, personal phonebook, etc., stored in the UICC, via the new mobile communication device.
UICC was defined, in terms of physical forms and logical functions, by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), to retain the international compatibility. From the viewpoint of the Form Factor defining the physical form, UICC decreases in size from the commonly used Mini SIM to the recently introduced Nano SIM, including Micro SIM that has been used for a few years. This change in size contributes to the minimization of mobile communication devices. However, regarding UICC smaller in size than Nano SIM that has been recently standardized, it will be difficult to standardize the UICC due to concern that users may lose it. In particular, since a removable UICC needs mobiles devices to secure a space for mounting a removable slot, UICC may not need to be smaller than Nano SIM.
In various devices such as intelligent home appliances, electricity meters, water meters, CCTV cameras, etc. it may not be appropriate to use removable UICC for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices which need connection to a mobile communication data network without a user's direct operation.
In order to resolve the problems, a method may be considered to substitute convention removable UICCs by embedding a security module, configured to perform functions similar to those of UICC, in mobile communication devices in the process of manufacturing mobile communication devices. The security modules may be installed to mobile communication devices during the manufacturing process or fixed to mobile communication devices. Therefore, as long as UICCs are not manufactured for dedicated mobile communication devices for a particular mobile communication operator, it may be difficult for UICCs to contain network access authentication information of a particular mobile communication operator, such as K, IMSI of USIM, in the process of manufacturing mobile communication devices. Therefore, the authentication information may be set only in a mobile communication device that is purchased and then subscribed to a particular mobile communication operation.
Unlike conventional UICCs that have been manufactured and distributed as cards dedicated to a particular mobile communication operator, as a user who purchase a mobile communication device performs: subscription to and withdrawal from a particular mobile communication operator; or alteration of a subscription to another operator, a new method is required to perform safe and flexible installation and management of authentication information related to various mobile communication operators in a UICC and an eUICC serving as a new security module configured to be embedded in a mobile communication device.